Retrieving Visible Data From Datatables

I am currently using Datatables to display three columns with a varying number of rows of information. The table is setup so that when a column header is clicked the table is sorte

Solution 1:

The underscrore (_) method is particularly useful here. It's worked well for me in the past. It will return an array of objects.

oTable._('tr', {"filter":"applied"});

Solution 2:

The fnGetData method is the correct (for Datatables version <= 1.10) way to extract data:

http://legacy.datatables.net/api#fnGetData

Per that documentation that function will:

Get the data for the whole table, an individual row or an individual cell based on the provided parameters.

Here's an example from that documentation:

oTable = $('#example').dataTable();

oTable.$('tr').click( function () {
   var data = oTable.fnGetData( this );
   // ... do something with the array / object of data for the row
});

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NOTE: My original answer mentioned using fnGetData without an argument (which worked for me a long time ago), and the docs suggest that should still work ("the data for the whole table"), but since that answer got down-voted and documentation doesn't specifically provide an example of its usage, I'm going to avoid recommending using it that way.

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Of course, the old Datatables is kind of terrible, so most likely (unless you have a lot of code built around the old Datables) your best bet is to upgrade to the newest version (or to another table/grid library entirely).